Vampire Goth
A popular dark cabaret musician, Voltair, will claim that Vampire Goths are "essentially Romantic Goths with fangs", and he may not be wrong. Vampires have been a fascination of the Goth subculture for a long time, and some will even say it's a cliché element. Regardless, the vampires have had a close tie with the Goth subculture since shortly after it started in the 80's. A popular author of vampire books is Anne Rice, with her character the vampire Lestat a common figure for many Vampire Goths. This type, too, likes the darker fashions, aesthetics, and brooding atmoshpere, only it's accompanied by fangs and vampire-like qualities. They pride themselves on being vampy, but more of an Anne Rice vampire than a Stephanie Meyer one. For many, the vampire aesthetic is simply a fashion, but for others, it can become an entire lifestyle, where people will claim to truly be a vampire. A "psionic" vampire feeds off the life energy of someone, while the "sanguine" vampire will literally drink blood. This is a very small portion of the Goth subculture that actually believe they're vampires, and are often just referred to as the Vampyre subculture. Not all Goths must be interested in vampires (I'm more of a witch person myself) and they certainly don't all go around acting like they drink the blood from unsuspecting victims in the night. Being a vampire is in no shape or form a requirement to be a Goth. Vampire Goths, like Romantic Goths, enjoy the dark and luxurious fabrics. They enjoy lacy and satin items, flowy dresses and other clothing, and clothes with a more aristocratic or elegant feel for both genders. The makeup is also similar to Romantic Goths, with soft eyes and bold lips on a pale face. Vampire Goths might have more detailed eye patterns than a Romantic Goth, but they're still very similar. The jewelry and other accessories, along with nails, may also be very similar, but the one key difference to the two types is that the Vampire Goths are, well, vampires! Small fang caps and contact lenses with different tints and shapes can be bought from Vamp Fangs online or other similar places. I've found Scarecrow Fangs (the type sold on Vamp Fangs) in small gift shops of Salem, Massachusettes and in costume stores around Halloween season. Think Vampire Goth could be your thing? *You adore vampires and the suspense of vampire romances *You love the night, graveyards, coffins, skulls and bats *You love vampire stories from authors like Anne Rice and Bram Stoker *You like to roleplay *You have a fascination with mythical creatures *You love flowy garnments and long, lacy or satin dresses, elegant clothes These are just some of the things that could make Vampire Goth your thing. It's up to you to find out what you like and dislike, Remember, there are no rules as to what mold you have to fit in the Goth subculture. You could combine aspects from all different types and make it completely your own, or gravitate to one particular style that you really like. It's all up to you!